THE SLEEPLESS nights, nails gnawed to the quick, nerves jangling. Life on the knife-edge of relegation is a cruel one, and somehow a man facing up to the last throw of the dice must find a distraction.

In days gone by it might have involved walking the legs off his dog, or smashing some golf balls down the range.

But now we are in the era of streaming, and it emerges that boxsets have become the modern-day stressbuster.

Crystal Palace boss Sam Allardyce, whose side can finally feel safe if they avoid defeat at home to Hull tomorrow, has been bingeing on Billions, the story of a US attorney’s battle with a hedge fund king. Hopefully he has avoided thoughts of just how much relegation might cost his club.

Swansea manager Paul Clement, on the other hand, has opted for LA police drama Bosch, and Minimalism, a documentary about how life can be better with less.

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Surely Clement is thinking of how to keep things simple as he approaches today’s crucial game at Sunderland this afternoon, and not preparing for what might lie ahead.

“I get into boxsets on the iPad to try and lose myself,” he said. “It’s hard though.

“When I’m looking out the window of my office it probably looks like I’m not doing anything. But they’re the times that I’m thinking about the right messages to say – and when I drive in, when I wake up, even when I’m staring at the TV at night.

“Maybe I’m not watching what is on the TV, I’m actually thinking about what is the best thing to say to a player or to a group.

“Sometimes I go for a run along the Mumbles road. I see the supporters, they give me a wink usually or ignore me when we don’t do so well.”

Do well this afternoon, and all the pressure switches to Selhurst Park and tomorrow’s high-noon showdown between Palace and Hull, who could go down if they lose following a Swansea victory.

And Allardyce is hoping he can secure Palace’s Premier League status this weekend – not only because it will render a last-day trip to Manchester United meaningless, but also because he’s run out of Billions.

“I don’t sleep easy before any games,” he said. “I’ve watched boxsets but I’m running out, I could do with some new ones. Billions has finished – I’m gutted about that.”

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Paul Clement joined Swansea in January after becoming their third manager of the season

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It is on match day that the two managers differ in their approach. While Clement may spend his quiet time thinking of what to tell his players in the moments before kick-off, Allardyce reckons his job should be done by then.

“It’s still the players’ responsibility to handle the situation, so I won’t put them under any more pressure than they need to be under,” said the former England coach. “They’ll still feel the pressure no matter what, and how they deal with it is going to be the key factor.

“I’ll get out of the way, leave the players to focus on the game. Our preparation is before we get into the dressing room.

“It’s not about a team talk, it’s not doing something in the dressing room. If we have to do that we’ve failed as a staff, failed miserably in our preparation.

“We actually put ourselves in a very positive position with five games to go. We’ve slipped up. Now we’ve got to make sure we finish it off.”

Hull find themselves in the deepest trouble having lost 2-0 at home to Sunderland, whose fate had already been confirmed.

Now they must secure a first away win since August to ensure a final-day shootout when they host Spurs, Swansea entertain West Brom, and Palace go to Old Trafford.

“Up until last weekend we were in a prime position and had survival in our own hands,” said Hull’s England centre-half Harry Maguire, whose younger brother Laurence suffered relegation with Chesterfield this season.

“But we’ve picked ourselves up from that disappointment and are ready to go again. The aim is to end the season with two wins.”